the.com/riverbank
the border between wet and dry that never bothers to file paperwork.
means the sloped land bordering a river, shaped continuously by water it never quite agrees to keep out.
from from old english riverbanke, joining rivere (from latin ripa, meaning bank or shore) with banke, a ridge or slope; both words basically mean edge, so riverbank is charmingly redundant.
erosion ratesome banks retreat meters per year, quietly
legal termriparian rights govern who owns the edge
ecosystem roleriverbanks filter runoff before it hits water
shape shifterouter bends erode, inner bends deposit sediment